Soul Eater Stein: My Brother, Justin
by Lady Death of Nevada
Summary: A touching origin story about the history betweeen Kuriyami and Justin. Kuriyami's POV
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: The first part of a touching story. Have to figure out how to make more than one chapter though. Please enjoy and I do not own Soul Eater, though I really wish I did. Kuriyami's POV**

"Daddy, I'm bored!" I called to my father, who was in the other room pulling apart a chameleon. I flipped through the channels on our tiny TV, thoroughly annoyed. Nothing but stupid kid's shows like Barney and Dora, and as a highly intelligent 6 year old, I just wanted them to all die. I pressed down harder on the brightly colored rubber buttons, frustrated, until I couldn't take it anymore and threw the remote at the screen, cracking it a little.

Daddy walked out with heavy steps and a frown on his face, wiping his blood soaked hands on his lab coat.

"Stop it. Why don't you go to the DWMA and see Spirit, he'll probably be able to entertain you." He suggested.

"Okay," I jumped up and grabbed a wallet with money for food and bail. I was a Stein, there was no telling what I'd do out on my own. Daddy escorted me to the door and kissed me on the top of my small head, "Bye! Love you, Daddy," I called as I ran out across the sandy front yard and to the gate to Death City. I sprinted as quickly as my little legs would take me to the DWMA, and nearly flew up the large staircase. I stared in awe at the magnificent school. I always dreamed of being able to come here when I got older.

"Kid! Slow down! Stop!" A young man called to a hyper little brat.

"Never! I am the great Black Star! I will never stop!" He squeaked, then stopped and did a messy roundhouse kick. I walked over to them, and in my own squeaky voice, said,

"Stop it. You're not doing it right," I instructed the proper way to do a roundhouse kick, "If you do it your way then someone can catch your foot and flip you when you're in midair," I corrected, walking away.

"Who do you think you are, correcting the great BLACK STAR?" He screamed in his high-pitched voice before incorrectly attempting another roundhouse kick. I quickly pivoted and grabbed his foot, flipping him and slamming his small, muscular body into the cement. Just as I'd said.

"You just don't learn," I sighed, walking away and into the building. But I was already bored again, so I quickened my pace and rushed through the endless halls, searching for my godfather. I was constantly running into teens and teachers and various other tall human beings (for the most part), and was nearly trampled but managed to find the red haired Death Scythe in a hall with his family, Maka hanging to his leg.

"Maka, Daddy loves you, but would you please get off of my leg?" He asked his own 6 year old, irritated.

"Spirit, why don't you act like a dad and just let her play with you?" Kami bugged. Ah. So they were fighting again. I watched them from across the hall.

"I'm Lord Death's personal weapon. I can't have a child with me while defending the world with the god of Death. I wouldn't expect you to understand, Kami…" He grumbled.

"Don't you even **think** about playing that card with me, Spirit Albarn. And Lord Death manages to do it. Kid spends every waking moment in the Death Room!" She yelled. Maka looked like she was on the verge of tears, watching her parents fight, and let go of her father's leg, frowning. I couldn't stand to see Maka cry. She was like a cousin to me. Or see Spirit get yelled at. But Kami getting yelled at, I could live with. I ran over and gave Maka a big hug to hold back the tears, then stepped in between Kami and Spirit. At age 6, I went halfway above their knees. They both looked down at me, Kami with a sour frown on her face and Spirit with a smile.

"Oh, hi, Kuriyami. You here to spend the day?" He asked. Kami's face went 5 shades deeper.

"So what? You'll let someone else's child spend the day with you, but your own daughter doesn't cut it?" She nearly screamed.

"Kami, this is Stein's daughter. I am **not **going to be the one to mess with Stein." He picked up Maka, "Maka, sweetie, Daddy's gonna watch Kuriyami today for her Daddy, but tomorrow I promise I'll spend the whole day with u, `K?" A big grin appeared on Maka's face.

"Yes, Da-" She was interrupted by Kami grabbing her from Spirit's arms. She looked down at me as I stuck out my tongue at her and she did so back, and then turned away, mumbling some not nice words. Spirit frowned at his wife, and I tugged at his hand, reminding him I was still here. He looked down at me.

"Right. Sorry, come on, you can play with Kid today." He led me into the magnificent Death Room. It was humongous, with gates like guillotines leading us in, and then at the end of the aisle on a raised platform was Lord Death, his son, Death the Kid, and Lord Death's mirror that he used to talk with people. Spirit, holding my hand, walked me up the platform, at which point I ran over to my playmate, squeezing him tightly in a hug.

"Hiya, Kid!" I glowed, ecstatic to have someone to play with today. He pushed me away, face red and brows furrowed.

"Kuriyami, we've been over this a million times. If you're going to hug me, then the hug has to be PERFECTLY SYMMETRICAL!" He screamed, "That was just horrid! There was nothing symmetrical about it!" I fell to the ground in a fit of laughter at his insane tantrum. After about 5 minutes, though, I pushed myself back up,

"Okay, then, would you like to administrate the hug?" I asked. He smiled and pulled out a long ruler.

"Stand still," He ordered, and began measuring and drawing a mess of lines. In the end, there was a circle with a perfect cross in the middle. He stood on the line across from me, and leaned forward, "But see, now our heads have only gone on one shoulder, so we have to switch shoulders." He moved his head to my right shoulder, and I moved mine to his left. He leaned away eight seconds later with a big grin on his tiny face, "Perfect!" He exclaimed.

"AWWWWW! Look, at them, Spirit! Aren't they just soooooo cute?" Lord Death swooned. Spirit just rolled his eyes and nodded.

"Come on, Kuriyami! I got this wonderfully symmetrical ball for us to play with!" He led me to a black ball with Lord Death's crest on each side. I picked up the ball and tossed it to him, at which point he caught it and passed it back. But, not knowing my own strength, I threw the ball over Kid's head and into the forest of weird crosses surrounding the platform. Kid ran off to get the ball, and I sat down to wait for him.

"Lord Death, the weapon, Justin Law, just got back from his final mission. He's now collected his witch's soul, and is waiting patiently to become one of your personal weapons," An old man with graying hair and a crisp brown suit came in and told Lord Death. I looked over for Kid, and saw he was deep within the maze of markings, so I snuck over to Spirit and stood next to him to watch this interesting and rare event occur.

"Wonderful, Brone! Now you can retire!" Lord Death said, making Brone frown.

"Um, yes, Sir. I suppose so," He replied, and then they just awkwardly stood there.

"Well, don't just stand there! Go and get him!" Lord Death exclaimed, causing Brone to turn and walk out.

"Kuriyami, come on. I got the b-"

"Shh!" I whispered to Kid, "Something big's about to happen!" We peeked out from behind Spirit's legs as Brone walked back in with a tall, blond boy with shimmering blue eyes and a slightly tan complexion. He was wearing a weird white cap and long black robes, with crosses and Lord Death's insignia all over himself. Even his earbuds had his mask on them. He smiled at Lord Death,

"My Lord, I'm here to serve you!" He bowed low to Lord Death, making me giggle. This guy seemed like a total nut.

"Thank you, Brone, you may leave now," He spoke to Brone as he turned around and left, "Justin! Do you have the witches soul?" He requested. The boy just stayed low to the ground, until Spirit walked away, revealing us, and slapped the blond in the back of the head, making his earbuds fall out of his ears. He looked up in a state of shock.

"Take out the da-" Spirit began before looking over at us and correcting himself, "the earbuds!" He angrily finished, frustrated.

"Oh," He said, as he pulled out a green soul, "Here it is, the soul of the witch, Rhiannon," He spoke before swallowing it whole. He began to glow, and I stared at him in awe as he became eclipsed in white light. Suddenly it filled the room, and then there he stood, looking giddy and the happiest he probably ever had, "I feel wonderful, my Lord! Spectacular, even!" He turned his arm into a guillotine like the gates behind him, and held it up as it's metal glinted in the light.

I suddenly walked forward and stared up at the boy. He looked down at me as he changed his arm back, and smiled, kneeling down.

"And who are you?" He politely asked.

"I'm Kuriyami..." I stopped and looked up at Spirit, who gave me the sternest look he could muster, which wasn't very stern at all, "Antony," I came up with on the spot. He smiled.

"And, how old are you, Kuriyami?" He continued.

"I'm six years old. What about you?" I replied, making him laugh.

"I'm thirteen,"

"Wow! You're really old," I said.

"Yes, yes I am," I stared at his earbuds, and he picked one up and help it close to my ear, causing loud rock music to blast into my eardrum. I jumped back from surprise, "Oh, sorry. I guess it is a little loud," He pulled out his player and turned it down. It was also black with Death's skull on it, "Do you like music?" He wondered.

"Yes! I love music!" I replied excitedly.

"Are you a meister?"

"Yup! Or at least, my daddy says I am," I looked into the distance and thought about whether or not I really was a meister when Spirit cleared his throat, causing both Justin and me to look at him.

"Justin, as a Death Weapon, you don't have time to play with little kids. You haven't even heard the basics yet," Spirit frowned. Justin stood up, then looked back down at me and took my hand.

"Well, could I train her today? I promise I'll be here tomorrow to learn," He begged.

"Oh, go ahead!" Lord Death allowed. I ran over to Kid,

"Bye!" I said with an unsymmetrical hug, which of course made him go into a big tantrum.

"Kuriyami, be back here for Lunch!" Spirit called after us.  
>"K!" I called back, and we were on our way.<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

** Sorry I haven't written in so long, I've been super busy. But here's the second chapter to the touching tale. Please favorite and comment so that the story can improve! Enjoy! Oh yeah, and I unfortunately don't own Soul Eater or it's characters.**

"So," Justin said as he closed the doors to the large room behind us, "Can you fight?" I looked around the room, and saw that it had mirrors for walls, and along these mirrors were railings. Like a dance studio.

"Yeah, my Daddy's taught me a little bit. He's a really good meister," I answered, only half paying attention as I traced the edge of the room, staring into the mirrors and dragging my hand across the bar.

"Well, how about this," He began as he took out his iPod and set it in a dock, "Why don't we start with the ba-OW!" He suddenly jerked away as I bumped into him, coming full circle.

"Oh! Sorry!" I apologized immediately, feeling my cheeks go hot, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. If a witch can't hurt me, then a little girl definitely can't." He assured me.

"You'll regret those words someday," I smiled. He leaned down and looked me in the eyes.

"Oh really. We'll see about that," And he stood back up, turning to his iPod and scrolling through the songs, searching for the perfect one, "Well, since I don't have a meister, and as a guillotine have no idea how that would even work, we'll have to think of something else. Do you know any martial arts?"

"Yeah, a little," I admitted.

"Perfect. Now, when I play this song, I'm going to start to attack you. Just to see how much you know, I want you to come at me with all you have. Don't worry I'll go easy on you." And he pressed a button and turned to me as Step Up started to play. I'd never heard music like this, only classical on my radio. It was broken and only played the classical music channel. Suddenly, Justin's blade hand was right in front of me. I did a one handed cartwheel to the side to dodge it, but he was nearly as quick as I was.

He was immediately back in front of me. He thrust his arm in my face, but I grabbed the side of his wrist that wasn't a guillotine and pulled him with all my strength. I managed to drag him to the ground in a state of shock. As he tried to get back up, I kicked him in the gut with my tiny foot.

"Cheater. Don't kick someone when they're down," He smiled as he jumped up and did a back flip away from me. He stood there for a few seconds, probably contemplating his next move, and I took his stillness as my opening to attack. I ran with all my speed at him, and pulled back my fist to punch him when he took his guillotine arm and smacked in the gut, shooting me across the room. I flew, crashing into the far wall. Dust rose around me as I tried to find the breath that had been knocked out of me.

"Kuriyami!" Justin screamed, panic filling his voice. He ran over, eyes wide with fear, "Kuriyami, are you okay?" He changed his arm back and softly placed his hand on my arm, "Where does it hurt?" He rushed. I held up my leg. As he went to carefully hold it, I shot my foot at his face, and it was his turn to fly. He landed somewhere around halfway across the room, and slid a little further upon impact. He looked over at me, wearing a surprised look on his face as I shakily stood up. Smirking, I said to him,

"Never let your guard down." He chuckled, and standing up as well, walked over to me and gave me a small hug.

"You're not half bad," He sighed.

"I told you I could beat you," I giggled. He stared down at me, his smile extending.

"Now, to be fair, I did hit you so hard that you made a dent in the wall," We turned around and stared at the huge me-shaped cavity in the wall, surrounded by little bits of mirror, dust, wall, and…

"Is that blood?" I spoke in disbelief. Justin let go of me and looked at my back, gasping.

"Oh no…you really don't feel it?" He insisted.

"Feel what?" I replied. A guilty look appeared on his face as he bit his lip and put his hand to my back. Instantly, a sting ran through my whole body, making me jump and groan. I stood, frozen, worry filling my body. I slowly turned to not only see blood on Justin's hand, but on the front of his robes as well.

"No…but how-"

"The wall is made of mirrors. When you made a dent in the wall, you must have broken the mirror. Broken pieces of mirror cut you." He quickly said as he lifted me up in his arms and began to run down the hall.

"Justin, stop," I rushed.

"Kuriyami, you're bleeding. You need help-"

"Justin, stop," I repeated.

"And you have a huge bump on the back of you're head. You must've banged your head on the rail-"

"Justin!"

"No, no, Lord Death will be so disappointed in me-OW," He exclaimed as I jolted my foot at the inside of his elbow, causing him to drop me as he held his arm in pain. I luckily landed on my feet, and sped away from him in the opposite direction. But, after a few seconds, I felt something tug at the collar of my shirt and spin me around. Justin pierced my soul with his stare of frustration. He frowned.

"Kuriyami, you need to be treated. You're bleeding everywhere." He insisted. He looked extremely upset, and not to mention worried, so I finally gave in. It turned out the nurse's office was right around the corner, so Justin slung me over his shoulder and carried me there, gently placing me on a cot when we finally arrived.

" Nurse Altheda!" Justin called out, "Nurse Altheda! Ugh, hopefully she'll be here soon," He grumbled, seeming as if his mind was somewhere else. He wandered over to me and turned me around so that my back was to him, " Here, I'll help you take this off. It'll just get in the way once the nurse gets here." He tapped my arms, and I raised them so that he could easily slip my top off of me. It fell onto my head mere seconds later.

"Justin, why'd you drop my shirt on me…." I began, looking back at him from over my shoulder to see a look of shock on his face.

"Kuriyami, how many times has this happened to you? Or do you have a medical problem or something?" He asked in a soft, high-pitched voice.

"What…. why do you…" I quickly stopped as I realized what he meant. I put the shirt back on, ignoring the burning sensation it caused as it rubbed against my scarred back. I silently stood up, and ran for it.

"Kuriyami! Where are you going!" I heard Justin scream after me as the sound of his feet slapping against the ground reached my ears. I sped up, running through the halls, out of the building. I felt a single tear run down my face as I kept running through Death City, trying to find my way home.

The heavy doors to my home creaked and slammed behind me. My father's footsteps became audible.

"Nice timing, I was just starting to get hungry. Did you bring some dinner?" He asked as he came into view.

"Daddy," I turned around and lifted up shirt to show Daddy my gashes. He sighed at the sight.

"Come into the lab and sit on the surgery table, I'll sew you up. You'll have to get rid of that shirt though, it's blood soaked, and I'm not sure how the Laundromat would react to it being in their washing machines," He instructed. I dropped the blouse in the trashcan, and walked into Daddy's office to prepare for the familiar act of having to be stitched up after being cut open.

"Daddy, I'm bored!" I called to my father, who was in the other room pulling apart a bear or other mammal of some kind.

"Is it just me, or am I having a case of deja vu? It seemed like you were having fun at the Academy yesterday, you came back so late. Why don't you go back today?" He suggested. I frowned as I remembered yesterday's events.

"No," I sighed.

"Oh, come on. You need to get out of the house more often." Daddy chuckled. He walked over to the coat rack, drying his hands of blood, and took down my sweatshirt, "Here," He handed it to me as I dragged myself over to him. He pulled open the door for me as I trudged out. I stared at my feet as I stepped through the city, dreading having to see Justin. There was no way he'd want to be my friend anymore, not after all that'd happened the previous day.

I was surprised to look up and see the entrance to the school staring me down after no time. It couldn't have been five minutes. But then again, time seems to speed up when something you're dreading is approaching.

"Please, John?" I heard a voice plead.

"Justin, I'm really sorry, but I already have a weapon partner." He apologized.

"Come on! I'm a Death Scythe, I'm sure I'm much better than whatever partner you already have!"

"Justin! That's a terrible thing to say. Listen, I really am sorry. Ugh, I don't have much time. I have to get to class; Anisa's waiting for me. I'm so sorry, but I'm sure you'll find a partner. I got to go, see ya!" And he ran off.

"Fine then!" He screamed after the boy, voice filled with anger, "See if I care, John! I don't need you, I'm a Death Scythe for Lord Death's sake, I don't need a meister!"

"Justin?" I spoke. He grabbed me and spun around, and replaced the look of devastation on his face with a smile.

"Kuriyami! I'm so happy to see you!" And he picked me up and spun me around, surprising me.

"What? You still want to be my friend?" He suddenly stopped and set me down, staring down at me.

"Why wouldn't I, silly?" He smiled. I stared up at him, and I smiled too, pulling him into a huge hug, "Now, come on! Don't you want to train?" He requested. A giggled.

"Haha, yeah! Come on!" I dragged him along.

And thus began the friendship between my honorary brother and I.

-O-o-O-

Do you like it? Well guess what! I'm not posting the next chapter of the story until I get at least five different reviews. Sorry but I've got lots of othe things to write and complete and while I adore this story I can't write it if no one's reading. So prove to me that people are reading! Thanks!

** Hope you enjoyed! The next chapter should come soon. Please favorite, comment, and read more about Kuriyami by visiting my profile!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey! Here's the next chapter! Enjoy!**

~O~o~O~

"Are you sure you have everything-"

"Yes, Daddy! I'll be back later!"

"Okay, I'll see-" He was cut off as I slammed the front doors shut and shot across the front yard, full of energy. I headed into Death City, running towards the Academy, as I had for the past week, to see my new brother, Justin. Well, technically, he's not my brother, but he acts like one and cares for me as much as any brother could. He'd been trading me all week, the same thing everyday. I'd been getting stronger, and I kept surprising Justin with the fact that I was so strong and talented.

I hopped up the staircase 5 stairs at a time, and when I got to the top I saw the humongous academy in front of me, as well as,

"Justin?" His smile dropped from his face.

"Kuriyami." He was standing next to a motorcycle packed with lots of stuff, and with enormous speakers attached, which were booming his favorite song. I confusedly looked from Justin, to Spirit, to Lord Death who almost never left the Death Room.

"Justin, what's going on?" I requested. He knelt down so that he was my height, and looked me in the eyes. I could see he was holding back tears.

"Kuriyami, you see," He began, but paused and tried to swallow back his tears. His voice was extremely choked, "I-I got," A single tear fell down his face and no more words would come from his mouth.

"Kuri," Spirit set his hand comfortingly on my shoulder, and I looked up at him, "Justin got assigned," I gasped and smiled, looking back at Justin.

"Cool! Where to?" I asked him. When you become a Death Weapon you get assigned to a territory where you help keep things in check. Spirit had been assigned to the US so he stayed here in Death City. He averted his eyes, and replied,

"Europe,"

"Awesome! Wait," That was when I finally understood, "Y-You're leaving?" He was silent and I saw a few more tears drip down his face, "Justin, answer me!" I could barely breath. He made a slight nod. I couldn't believe he was leaving. I stared at Justin in disbelief for a few more seconds, then spun around to face Spirit, tears streaming down my face, "He's lying, right? Right?"

"No. Kuriyami, he has to go. It's part of becoming one of Death's Weapons." Spirit said. I didn't know how to react, what to do. It seemed as though things were moving in slow motion, as if this were a bad nightmare and I'd wake up soon enough in a sweat.

"It's not forever though," Justin spoke through his tears. I turned to look at him, to see him smiling at me through his tears, "I'll come back and visit. And I'll write you."

"No. No you can't go!" I shrieked and wrapped my arms around his neck, clinging to him as he wrapped his around me. We sat like that for a few minutes before he let go of me and looked at me, wiping away my tears with his thumb. He kissed my forehead and stood up.

"This isn't goodbye. I promise." And he hopped on his motorcycle, and waving, began to drive away.

"No. NO JUSTIN!" I screamed and ran toward shim only to have someone lift me up, holding me back. I flailed in Spirit's arms as I watched Justin drive away.

He wrote to me every week, telling me stories about Paris, London, Rome, various places in Germany, the Swiss Alps, and other fantastic places in Europe. He came back and visited me a month later for a week before leaving again. He kept writing, but now for once a month as opposed to once a week. He told me he couldn't visit as often due to work. He came on visited every six months, but then, one day when I was 12, the mail slowed down. He missed his semi-annual visit. He wrote me a week after it and said he'd been busy. He then visited me once a year, on my birthday, and I'd be lucky if I got a letter every few months. The distance was hurting us. I slowly began to grow up, turning 14 on April 13, 2007, and finally, I got to see him again.

"Kuri! Kuri, wake up! You know what today is?" Daddy screamed in my ear.

"Can my gift be sleeping in?" I groggily begged.

"Are you sure that's what you really want?" Another voice asked. I shot up in my bed and rubbed my eyes to make sure I was seeing things right. A huge smile appeared on my face.

"Justin!" I screamed in delight as I shot into his arms, squeezing him as hard as I could, as he squeezed back, "God, I haven't seen you in forever!" He slackened his grip so that I could see his face,

"Now, Kuriyami, you know not to use our almighty Lord Death's name in vain!" He reprimanded me as he kneeled on the floor and put his hands together, "Lord Death, please forgive her with your mighty powers, as it is this young girl's birthday. And may you please continue to give the people sweet and gracious lives, remembering…" He ranted like the lunatic he was, making me crack up. I got out of bed, standing up and stretching.

"Okay, I'm up! Now can you guys go so I can get dressed?" I requested.

"Of course. Come on, Justin, you can rant downstairs." Stein gestured for Justin to get up and follow him.

"You mean pray, right?" Justin corrected him.

"Whatever," He replied as they left my room, closing my door. I pulled out a pair of shredded skinny jeans, a DWMA shirt made by none other than me, and my old, black DC's, throwing them on and brushing my hair and teeth as fast as I could. I was so happy Justin was here; I couldn't wait to go down and see him.

I slid down the banister into the kitchen, and walked over to where Justin, Daddy, and Spirit were sitting. There was breakfast set on the table. This scared me, seeing as Daddy couldn't cook for his life. I sat down between him and Justin, and across from Spirit where there sat a small box, a medium sized package, and a huge bag.

"You guys didn't-"

"Kuri, stop it. I know you hate being pampered, but it's your birthday, so you're going to have to deal with it," He interrupted, smiling. His grin was contagious, as it caused a smile to appear on my face as well.

"Well…if you insist," I chuckled, picking up the largest package first. I looked on the tag to see _Spirit and Maka_ scrawled across it. I pulled out the tissue paper to reveal a beautiful, crimson colored gown. It was sleeveless, with a fitted top, and right below the bust the skirt flowed out like a fountain of blood. It had a small, wilting flower pin that made the dress look even more like it was worn by someone who was dying. I gasped it its gorgeous image, "Oh my god. Spirit, this is beautiful. You really shouldn't have. What the hell am I supposed to wear this for?" He chuckled at my surprised look.

"Maka helped me pick it out, told me something about it would complement the white in your hair or the gray in your eyes or something. So you like it?" He asked.

"You're kidding, right? Of course! I love it! Thank you so much!" I gave him a huge hug and a kiss on the cheek and gently set it back in the bag. Next, I began to open up tiny box. I saw that Justin had written his name on the wrapping paper. Carefully removing the wrapping paper, I could see some writing in French. I opened the box to find a big, silver locket with an intricate Celtic knot on it and my initials hidden in the design. I gasped, and opened the locket to see a picture of us from when we'd first met. I could still remember the event that the photo had captured; me sitting in Justin's lap, as we made silly faces into the camera in front of the amazing fountain in the middle of Death City.

"Justin…this…is just…wow," I spoke speechlessly.

"Good. I found it in a little French shop. Here, let me put it on you," I took it out of the box and, moving aside my hair, allowed Justin to put it around my neck. Once it was on, I turned back around and hugged him tightly,

"Thank you. You really didn't have to," I whispered in his ear. He slackened his grip on me so I could sit back down.

"I know. But I wanted to, little sis," he replied, making my smile grow even bigger. I took the package into my hands and stared at it intently. Slowly, I began to open up the box, nearly dropping it when I saw what it held. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out. I stared at the plain metal frame that Stein had probably made short notice, but more importantly at what it held.

"How…" I tried not to cry as I gazed at the photo. Daddy put his arm around me and stared at it, too. There he was, 17 years old, with Marie, who has covered in sweat and a little blood. And who were they holding? Me. Little infant me, covered in blood, but smiling.

"I took it right before her memory was wiped. This was the first and last picture taken of us as a family. I hope you like it." He said. I stared up at him.

"Daddy…" And dug my face into his shoulder. He held me tight and kissed my head.

"Kuri, you still have one more," He alerted me, and as I turned back to the table, setting down the photo, I saw he was right. There sat a white envelope that I hadn't noticed before. I picked it up and tried to think of who it could be from. I turned it over to see the return address and my eyes went wide in disbelief. _Mjolnir, Oceania_. It was from my mother. I carefully opened it up to see a cheap Happy Birthday card inside. I slowly opened the card to read it.

_Dear Kuriyami,_

_I don't know if you can remember who I am, but I'm one of Stein's old friends and colleagues. I met you once when you were four and you'd just began living with him. He informed me that you were turning fourteen this month, and so I'm writing to wish you a happy birthday. Please enjoy the $20 I've put in this card. I hope I can come and visit soon. But for now, happy birthday, you big fourteen year old you._

_ Sincerely,_

_ Marie Mjolnir._

I read it over a few times, and then passed it around the table for the others to see. Spirit chuckled.

"Just like Marie, sending $20 to a kid she's only met once. She probably did it cause you told her about it, Stein,"

"She really is kind," Justin added.

"Yeah," I spoke in utter disbelief, "I'm gonna take this stuff upstairs,"

"I'll do it. You go out and have fun with Justin." Stein insisted.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Go, birthday girl," Spirit pushed.

"Okay, come on, Justin," I stood up and pushed in my chair as Stein gave me a $50, "I don't need this," I tried to give it back to him, but he pushed my hands away.

"Take it,"

"Stein, I'll pay today," Justin told him.

"No! I'll pay for me, you pay for you!" I stuck the bill in Daddy's pocket, but he pulled it out and stuck it in mine.

"Take the damn money," He forced. I laughed.

"Fine. See ya later," I said as Justin and I left.

"So, what do you want to do?" He asked me as we began walked towards Death City. I grinned.

"Just follow me,"

"Wow," Justin gasped as he saw the inside of the Kuri and Stein's Place: Ice Rink. This place had been my birthday present from Daddy when I turned 8.

"Just grab a pair of skates," I instructed as I began lacing my skates, quickly jumping onto the ice and skating a lap or two before doing a split jump and landing on one foot.

"Nice," Justin called to me as he shakily began creeping over to where I stood in the middle.

"No! Go to the rim! You're not dying on my watch!" I shouted back, sprinting to where he was to lead him to the wall.

"I'm not that bad!" He defended himself.

"Very funny. You haven't skated in years!"

"Not true! I skated last Christmas in Switzerland when Tezca came to visit me," He said.

"And how many times did you fall?" I requested.

"Shut up," He replied making us both crack up. After he fell on his butt a few times, he began to get the hang of it, and we skated around for a few hours.

"So, you've still been trying to gracefully battle?" He asked.

"You can tell?" The way I battle is I dance to the music that's either in my soul or coming from an iHome. I learned it from Justin.

"You're doing better then ever," He complemented, "You're getting so big. It's hard to believe that you're fourteen. I still see the little six year old I first met every time I look at you," He added after a few seconds.

"I'm still that same little six year old. I've just…grown up," I spoke.

"Yeah, I know," He smiled.

We left soon after and Justin took me out for ice cream. We were walking towards the DWMA when we heard someone screaming Justin's name. We turned around to see Sid running after us.

"Justin! Lord Death needs to see you for a second!" He informed Justin.

"Oh," He sighed, turning to me, "Kuri-"

"I'll be fine. Go. Lord Death needs you," I insisted.

"Are you-"

"Yes. Go. I'll see ya later." I waved goodbye to him as we began to walk in opposite directions.

When I got home, I ate some cake with Stein and Spirit, watched a movie, and went up to my room. I sat, waiting for Justin for hours, until I couldn't anymore and my eyelids drooped over my eyes.

When I woke up the next day, I found that Justin still wasn't back. I ran out of house and to the DWMA, until I finally found Spirit in its twisted halls.

"Spirit! Finally, I've been looking for you everywhere. Where's Justin?" His smile disappeared from his face.

"I thought you'd heard. There was an emergency in Austria, so they sent him back last night," I couldn't believe my ears. Swallowing my shock and disguising my disappointment with a fake smile, I replied,

"Oh. Okay. Well, have a nice day, Spirit. Tell Maka I said hi," And I turned away from him and ran.

~O~o~O~

**There you have it! I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter's on its way and it's going to be super awesome, but I have to get at least 7 comments before I put it out. Please remember to favorite, follow, and check out my profile for other stories about Kuriyami, and possibly coming soon, Justin. Thanks again! Ciao!**


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